The South Woodford Society was initially founded by a group of residents who felt disillusioned by local planning decisions and wanted to play an active role in creating a green, accessible and vibrant community. With input from over 500 members, it started to produce a neighbourhood plan and secured government funding to develop a digital design code, a set of design principles to inform future developments, based on effective community engagement and local aspirations for the area. The society needed to build on this strong momentum and work collaboratively with a wide range of partners to realise its vision and make South Woodford an even better place to live, work and visit.

Volunteering for the community group, Jo Ashbridge, CEO of the housing charity AzuKo, engaged with Katie Dawson, Technical Director at the geospatial technical services consultancy EcoSpatial, to build a web-based mapping app. This interactive, digital solution was created in Esri’s ArcGIS Online, using the easy-to-use templates and drag-and-drop widgets available in ArcGIS Experience Builder. Known as the South Woodford Neighbourhood Forum Map, it consolidates a vast amount of local information, enabling residents, developers, local businesses and the borough council to clearly visualise the South Woodford area.

During the development of the solution, Esri UK provided advice on how to find appropriate geospatial data to supplement the data that the society was collecting itself. This led to the incorporation of open source kerbside data from Appyway, which shows the locations of parking bays and yellow lines.

Using standard tools in ArcGIS Online, the society can easily analyse the data in its Neighbourhood Forum Map to gain insight into issues that could inform development decisions. For instance, the society has created a buffer around South Woodford to indicate the areas that can be reached within a ten minute walk, in any direction, from any address. This zoning is incredibly valuable for analysing residents’ access to amenities like green spaces and parks, which may be outside of the South Woodford boundary but still close enough to enrich residents’ lives.

The Neighbourhood Forum Map is still in development, and more information will be incorproated in the near future, including cycling and walking routes to help encourage more active livestyles. South Woodford Society also plans to include 3D visualisations and real-time data, such as traffic flow and rainfall, using the ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World.

Constructive collaboration with stakeholders
ArcGIS Online provides a contemporary way for South Woodford Society to share its vision for the future and collaborate with other stakeholders to make it happen. The Neighbourhood Forum Map can, for example, be used by the society in council meetings to highlight underused areas that could become nicer green spaces. “We want to make South Woodford the best it can be,” says Dawson. “ArcGIS is a really good way to improve collaboration between residents, the society, developers and planning authorities and ensure that the best possible decisions are made about how to improve the area.”

Consistent approach to development
The Neighbourhood Forum Map helps to ensure changes in the urban landscape are consistent with the standards set out in the society’s design code. One developer has recently used the Neighbourhood Forum Map, in conjunction with the design code, to help inform its plans for a development in the area. “The map gives developers a better feel for the area,” says Pearl Arbenser-Simmonds, Co-Chair of South Woodford Society. “It enables them to see how their developments will fit into the surrounding environment and what steps can be taken to enhance green spaces.”

Clarity for prioritising investments
ArcGIS Online helps to highlight where new investments are needed to improve the area. For instance, the society can see where there are streets with no or few benches and present a clear case for new street furniture to improve pedestrian safety, comfort and mobility. “Asset mapping is a powerful tool that enables communities to understand what their neighbourhood has and needs,” says Ashbridge. “South Woodford Society can use its ArcGIS map to pitch for funding and develop a strategy to turn its vision for healthy streets and spaces into reality.”

Effective measurement of targets
The South Woodford Society plans to use ArcGIS Online to monitor changes and generate tangible evidence of how well it is achieving the targets in the neighbourhood plan. It has, for example, already used ArcGIS Online to calculate the percentage of greenspaces within the area and the percentage of canopy cover from trees. By repeating this analysis annually, the society can measure improvements in green spaces and nature in its urban environment over time.

Stronger community engagement
Undoubtedly, the Neighbourhood Forum Map helps to engage local people in conversations about the future of the area and fosters a stronger sense of community. When new developments are proposed, residents can use the map to see what is already in the area, better understand the implications of the project and make constructive comments as part of public consultation processes. Arbenser-Simmonds acknowledges, “The feedback that we have had from the community has been brilliant—and that just enthuses us to develop our ArcGIS map further!”